All Posts in Category: Summer

Dr. Korenman of Loveable Smiles in Richardson share the following tips if you experience at dental emergency.

If you have an accident and your tooth is still in your mouth:

Straighten it and quickly apply ice.

Call your dentist right away. Loveable Smiles can be reached at 972-231-0585 and we answer our phone 24/7.

If your tooth is knocked out during an accident:

Find the tooth and clean it off.

Place the tooth in a small container of milk. The calcium in the milk helps keep your tooth moisturized.

See your dental professional as soon as possible, preferably within 30 minutes.

Don’t forget to take the tooth with you.

With prompt attention, a permanent tooth may be re-implanted into the tooth socket and saved. The dentist will then monitor it and determine what other treatment may be necessary depending on how it reattaches.

If you can’t get a hold of your dentist, you should go to an emergency room.

At Loveable Smiles in Richardson, TX, Dr. Korenman provides his cell phone number on his business card.

Additionally, we have someone answering our business line 24/7. That number is 972-231-0585

With Texas summer in full force, it’s easy to cool down with sugary, carbonated drinks like sodas, juices and sport drinks.

According to the Pediatric Dental Health website, each American drinks more than 53 gallons of carbonated drinks every year, much of it in the form of soft drinks.

Additionally, some patients who are trying to avoid soda opt for another type of carbonated drink: various types of seltzer water, club soda, sparkling water, and carbonated mineral water.

Let’s start with the sugar.

Everyone knows that sugar is bad for our teeth.

Specifically, sugar in soda combines with bacteria in your mouth to form acid within 30 seconds, which attacks the teeth. Diet or “sugar-free” soda contains its own acid, which also can damage teeth. Each attack lasts about 20 – 30 minutes and starts over with every sip of soda you take.

The reality of carbonated beverages.

The potential for dental erosion from carbonated drinks is due to the phosphoric acid, citric acid or carbonic acid. Any of these can erode tooth enamel. Over time the acid dissolves the calcium in your teeth leaving behind a mushy mess called a cavity.

The calcium in saliva works to remineralize teeth after exposure to small amounts of eroding acid, but with the increased consumption of carbonated beverages, it’s not enough.

Even diet soft drinks contain damaging acids. People often consume many soft drinks over the course of a day, which means tooth enamel is exposed to the acids over several hours.

Unfortunately, sparkling water is also very acidic due to the carbonation which can combine with the water to form carbonic acid.

Additionally, teeth with weakened enamel are also more susceptible to staining.

Tips for drinking carbonated beverages:

Reduce or eliminate the beverage from your diet.

Use a straw to prevent contact between the soda and your teeth.

Thoroughly rinse your mouth with water after drinking soda.

Drink soda within a short period of time and then rinse, instead of sipping slowly over an extended period of time.

Dr. Larry Korenman of Loveable Smiles in Richardson has a refreshing solution to make water a bit less boring and more like a treat. Making your own infused water is practically calorie free and gives you a refreshing way to stay hydrated.

You can infuse water easily with fruit, vegetables, and herbs. This goes beyond the classic ubiquitous lemon slice in water. It’s one of those things where you can get super creative and think outside the bottle. The possibilities are endless! Add the fruit and herbs into a bottle of cool water. Let the water refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to infuse and then enjoy!

Quite often Dr. Korenman hears the following and very common dental myth:

“Baby teeth do not matter since they are going to fall out anyway.”

Here is an alarming statistic:

Tooth decay is still the most common chronic childhood disease and left untreated, it can impair a child’s ability to eat, speak, sleep and learn.

Your child’s teeth need to be strong and healthy to chew, speak, sing, smile with confidence, play a musical instrument andmost important, act as “space savers” for adult teeth.

If your child prematurely loses a tooth/teeth, the tooth beside it may drift into the empty space, which then doesn’t allow for the adult teeth to erupt into its proper place.

If your child has a cavity, it’s usually painless at the beginning. If left untreated it will become quite advanced, often with no symptoms at all. The tooth can become abscessed without the child having any noticeable symptoms until it’s too late and it becomes infected and then there IS pain!

Baby teeth may be temporary, but giving them proper care can help you achieve a lifetime of oral health as well as overall health. Simple preventive checkups twice a year can prevent childhood decay and help you and your child learn how to protect their teeth throughout their lifetime as well as helping your child to have a great attitude about having dental care.

All the adults who fear having dental treatment and who hate seeing dentists tell us the horrible problems they had as children. This is extremely sad because it is so simple to prevent those bad experiences if we get to meet early enough.

Caring for Your Baby’s Teeth

Running a damp washcloth over your baby’s gums following feedings can prevent buildup of damaging bacteria.

Once your child has a few teeth showing, you can brush them with a soft child’s toothbrush or rub them with gauze at the end of the day.

The best type of toothbrush to use at first, is a long handled brush with a small head. This design makes it easy to reach all areas of your baby’s mouth.

Your baby’s toothbrush should have rounded, soft filaments. You should replace it every 10-12 weeks, or sooner if the filaments become splayed.

It isn’t absolutely essential to use toothpaste to clean your baby’s teeth – the brushing action itself is actually the most important part of keeping them clean. If you prefer to use toothpaste, then you should choose one that is designed specifically for infants, because they contain very little – if any – fluoride. In fact, the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry guidelines suggest that babies under the age of 2 receive NO fluoride at all.

Putting your baby to sleep with a bottle in his or her mouth may be convenient in the short term — but it can harm the baby’s teeth. When the sugars from juice or milk remain on a baby’s teeth for hours, they may eat away at the enamel, creating a condition known as bottle mouth.

If your baby is “stubborn” and fusses about having their teeth brushed, gently continue trying every few days. Children who are nearly 2 have a passion to copy everything they see done around them. If a 2-year-old girl sees her parents brush their teeth, she one day grabs one of their brushes and insists on trying it herself. This is a good time to buy her a brush and let her go to it. Naturally, she won’t be very efficient at first, but you can help her tactfully.

During summer vacation, kids are more likely to indulge in sugary snacks like popsicles, ice cream and slushies. Parents, should be helping their child brush their teeth every night until the child is 9 or 10 years old. After that, they should have the dexterity to properly clean their teeth.

The Oral Systemic Connection is the driving force at Loveable Smiles. It’s called the “Mouth-Body Connection,” and it means that poor dental health can severely deteriorate your body, especially your lungs and heart, and it can also lead to a host to other conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and even some Cancers.

If our children have healthy mouths, they are more likely to have healthy bodies and can ward off serious health issues later in life.